Looking for something different to do this Halloween? How about a visit to a REAL haunted house? Head on over to N. Tryon street for the Rosedale Plantation Ghost Walk.

Historic Rosedale plantation was built in 1815 and served as a private home for several prominent families.

The ghost walk takes place on ONE NIGHT ONLY...10/30/2010. Tickets are $10.00 each and the proceeds support the ongoing preservation of this historic treasure.

See press release below for additional details. Purchase tickets through the Rosedale website, here.

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5:30pm

Guests should gather around the tables under the Swamp Chestnut toward the rear of the home. This enchanted tree stands close to where the slave quarters and original smithy once existed. You will walk the same paths of those who worked, lived, and died at Rosedale. Some believe the former inhabitants still reside at Rosedale. Experience the energy of the plantation while hearing stories of those who have experienced strange encounters. What will you see, hear, smell... will someone tap your shoulder or tug your sleeve? Is it Elbert, the former “conjure man” or Archibald Frew, the ill-fated original owner, or Cherry the nurse and root healer? Advance reservations encouraged. We suggest participants bring a small flashlight. Tour approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
No refunds under any circumstances
$10.00 per person

Price Reduction for CAPS Special Yahoo Group Ghosthunt

The owners have just announced a price reduction for the investigation of the Haunted Farmhouse in Dunn, NC. Cost will now be $25.00 per Person. Monies received will go directly to the property owner (who is disabled) for help with living expenses.

Please contact Tina McSwain of CAPS at gostwatchr@aol.com if interested in going. Let's get a group together and go support the efforts of these fine people who have opened their land and lives to the paranormal community!!

Several paranormal research teams have already visited this site and confirmed activity is present.

Price Reduction for CAPS Special Yahoo

CAPS Special Yahoo Group Ghost Hunt Will Take Place on Saturday - September 18, 2010

I am excited to make the following announcement...

For our September CAPS Yahoo Group Ghost Hunt, we are planning something entirely different. As you know if you have joined us in the past, our Yahoo Group Ghost Hunts are always the 3rd Saturday in the month. Accordingly, this event will be held on SATURDAY - SEPTEMBER 18, 2010! We will be investigating "The Haunted Farmhouse" in Dunn, NC. Please visit their Facebook page at Haunted FarmHouse for pictures and details. (If you are friends with me on Facebook, they are friends with me as well.)

There will be a COST OF $50.00 PER PERSON TO ATTEND THIS EVENT.

RESERVATIONS AND PREPAYMENT ARE REQUIRED IN ADVANCE, AND CAN BE MADE BY CONTACTING ME AT GOSTWATCHR@AOL.COM.

You will be able to arrive in the daylight hours to acclimate yourselves to the house and property. You will be able to investigate into the wee hours of the morning.

Do we have any campers out there? You may camp overnight if you like, but you must provide your own camping gear, i.e. tent, sleeping bag, whatever you normally use. However, there are no hookups. There are also hotels in the area if you do not want to spend the entire night on the property, or do not want to drive back to the Charlotte area late at night. It is an approximate 3 hour drive from Charlotte.

I will be available at the Charlotte Paranormal and Ghost Trackers Meetup event on Friday - August 27th to take reservations and payments.

(As a reminder, Meetup will be held at Acropolis Cafe on Catawba Avenue in Cornelius, NC beginning at 7pm)

Thank you and Happy Hauntings!

Tina R. McSwain,

Founder & Director,

The Charlotte Area Paranormal Society (CAPS)

Dr. T.G. Hamilton's Experiments in Ectoplasm

In 1918, the Spiritualist movement was nearing its end in America and making its way up North. For decades, mediums and seances had been a national obsession. Posh folks even held such gatherings in their homes as a sort of pastime. Dr. Hamilton, a respected Canadian physician, was one of the last to board this bandwagon, spurred on by his wife's insistence after the death of his son.

Eventually, an entire room of their Winnipeg home was devoted solely to paranormal research. They studied telekinesis, trance states, automatic writing and most extensively, ectoplasm.

In those days, ectoplasm was believed to be the by-product of communing with the other side. The unexplained material was said to emanate from the bodies of mediums; oftentimes taking the shape or displaying the countenance of a deceased individual.

The appearance of ectoplasm seemed to decline after Harry Houdini's campaign to expose fraudulent mediums. The possibility of fraud did not deter Dr. Hamilton. His special room was reportedly locked at all times unless a "circle" was in session. He claims to have taken strict scientific measures to warrant against fakery. He even installed a bank of cameras that could be activated to simultaneously photograph the proceedings. Despite these claims, many dismiss his large photo archive as nothing more than evidence of the ongoing practice of fraudulent mediums.

His efforts did not go unnoticed. The Winnipeg Society for Psychical Research elected him their first president in 1931.

Dr. Hamilton remains an important figure in the field of Parapsychology. He was one of the first investigators to apply scientific method to the study of the unknown. His collection of photos and experiment archives can be found at the University of Manitoba.

Back By Popular Demand...The Hunt For the Hound of Goshen: a re-enactment

June Paranormal Meetup Special Event

You are invited to join Boo and the Charlotte Area Paranormal Society "Ghost Trackers Meet-up Group" for a buffet-style dinner and a special Salisbury Ghost Walk. We will meet at the "haunted" Wrenn House Grill & Pub for a private group dinner at 7:30. During dinner, we will be entertained by a presentation on the history of the house, listen to stories from the staff about their own paranormal experiences (Yes! The house is haunted!), learn the sordid details that may account for the haunting, and finally, watch a short film made about the home. We'll also discuss the findings of a paranormal investigation held at this location. After dinner, we'll head on over to begin The Downtown Salisbury Ghost Walk. We will walk through the downtown Salisbury area with knowledgeable guides who will show us the locations of the haunted buildings found there, along with the stories behind the hauntings.

Come on out and join in the adventure!

RESERVATIONS AND PRE-PAYMENT ARE REQUIRED! ! !

DINNER WILL BEGIN AT 7:45PM

FOR RESERVATIONS AND TO ARRANGE PAYMENT, E-MAIL GOSTWATCHR@AOL.COM

WE WILL ALSO BE TAKING RESERVATIONS AND PAYMENT AT THE CAPS PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION CLASS ON FRIDAY - JUNE 18TH, AND THE CAPS GROUP GHOST HUNT ON SATURDAY - JUNE 19TH.

I look forward to seeing everyone there!
Best regards,
Tina R. McSwain,
Founder & Director
The Charlotte Area Paranormal Society (CAPS)
Meetup Organizer

The New Daughter-Paranormal Movie Review

As a recent graduate, I have more free time this summer than I'm used to. Between games of Family Feud on Facebook, I try and catch up on recent movies. Thanks to the fantabulous Redbox machine, I came across this interesting film: The New Daughter starring Kevin Costner.

Right off the bat just let me say that I am not a huge Costner fan; he's a little too Alan Alda for my tastes. Between that and the fact that this was a straight to DVD release, I was a little hesitant to drop a buck for some cheap entertainment.

The overall story is very interesting. It revolves around a recently-divorced man (Costner) starting over with his kids in South Carolina. Unbeknownst to him, his new property contains an ancient Indian burial mound and has been the location of some strange mumbo jumbo.

They could easily have gone all Poltergeist on this one, but I'll give the writers credit for having an original take. The special effects aren't bad and overall it didn't seem like the low budget waste of time I'd imagined.

On the negative side, this movie is slow...achingly slow. In fact I had to fast forward past the first thirty minutes to get to the interesting bit. I enjoy suspense as much as the next person, but shots that linger on and on for no justifiable reason are a waste!

Surprisingly, this film is nearly gore free. A plus in my book.

I would give it 3 out of 5 orbs

Haunted Real Estate

A great post on the topic of haunted real estate, better known as "stigmatized property". Click here to read the whole story.

Check Out Shadows in the Dark 24 Hour Radio Bash at Ripley's in St. Augustine, FL this weekend!

Check Out Shadows in the Dark 24 Hour Radio Bash at Ripley's in St. Augustine, FL this weekend!

http://www.shadows24.com/

Tina R. McSwain, Founder & Director of The Charlotte Area Paranormal Society will be on the air at 7am on Saturday - April 17th!

CAPS Kicks Off 2010 Volunteer Efforts

We here at CAPS are as committed to community service as we are to ghost hunting. Recently, our members have volunteered for Second Harvest Food Bank; a wonderful organization that vows to eliminate hunger in the US.

Tina McSwain, CAPS founder, would like to thank all of our members and associates who have volunteered their time to the Second Harvest Food Bank. Your efforts are much appreciated. She would also like to share the following note from Second Harvest's own, Matt Nooe:

Tina,
I wanted to a say a special thanks to Nicci and Nancy for donating 16 hours of their time and volunteering at the food bank!


Thanks!
Matt

Matt Nooe, AIGA, ACSA
Creative Services
Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina
500-B Spratt Street
Charlotte, NC 28206

If you would like to donate to Second Harvest or volunteer for upcoming events, please click here for futher information.

Tina McSwain Interview- WSGE

We at CAPS are very excited to announce that founder Tina McSwain will be appearing on WSGE radio this coming Monday February 8th. Tina will be live on air from 6-6:30 pm during the Public Affairs programming block. Click the WSGE banner to listen to the live stream.

6 Questions With Tina McSwain

CAPS founder Tina McSwain was recently interviewed for the Phasma Ex Machina Blog. "6 Questions With..." is an ongoing series featuring interviews with the best educators and researchers the paranormal field has to offer. Click here to visit the site and read the full interview.

Children Hear Voices That Aren't There

A new study by the British Journal of Psychiatry confirms that almost 1 in 10 children ages 7-8 suffer from auditory hallucinations.

Are these "hallucinations" communications from the other side, or evidence of underlying psychiatric disorders?

Read the full article here.

Astrophysicist Michio Kaku Discusses The Physics of Aliens

The Top Paranormal News Stories of 2009

About.com's list of the top paranormal events of 2009. An interesting list of the scary and not so scary things that went down last year. Have a favorite that didn't make the list? Let us know and we'll post it!

The Thing on The Trail Cam

Yours truly has had a bit of down time between semesters. Using that time wisely, I've been scouting You Tube for interesting paranormal videos. After a couple of hours I came across this one. Don't be frightened by the fabu deer hunting theme song that opens the show. What did these guys capture on video? An insect hanging from a spider web? An alien drone? You be the judge.

Season Premiere of GHI Airs This Wednesday

Catch the season premiere of Ghost Hunters International this Wednesday January 6th at 9pm EST on SyFy. The first episode of the season features the hunt for Hitler's ghost.

The Demon at The Wedding